WORLD HIGHLIGHTS

►Belgium BRUSSELS

Energy ministers from European Union countries were to meet yesterday to debate their response to high gas and electricity prices, with countries still divided over whether the recent price spike should be met with an overhaul of energy market rules.

►US WASHINGTON

The 15-year-old American boy who used a semi-automatic pistol bought during Black Friday sales to shoot his classmates at pointblank range was "absolutely cold-hearted" and went to school with "the intent to kill people", the local sheriff said on Wednesday.

►Canada OTTAWA

Canadian lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously voted to ban so-called conversion therapy, after two previous attempts to criminalise actions seeking to change a person's sexual orientation fell by the wayside.

►UK LONDON

The UK government said late Wednesday it has ordered 114 million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses, from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer-biontech and Moderna, to bolster its jabs drive over the next two years.

►Brazil BRASÍLIA

The Brazilian Senate on Wednesday approved a Presbyterian pastor for a seat on the Supreme Court in a win for far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who had promised to appoint a "terribly evangelical" judge to the top court.

►Mexico MEXICO

CITY Mexico's Supreme Court on Wednesday issued the country's first-ever authorisation for planting, cultivating and harvesting cannabis for industrial purposes.

►Turkey ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan replaced the country's finance minister on Wednesday after weeks of economic turmoil in which inflation has soared while the lira plummeted to record lows.

►Argentina

BUENOS AIRES Argentina's ex-president Mauricio Macri was charged on Wednesday with ordering the illegal surveillance, as head of state, of relatives of 44 sailors who died when a navy submarine sank in 2017. AGENCIES